Very good amount of energy today.
This morning I read (I'll share about the book later) and sat by the fire. Today is the first day we've had to keep the fire burning. The temperature dropped significantly yesterday as a new cold front blew in. I need to get a thermometer next time I'm in town close to a hardware store. Off in the near distance, I can see that the ridges are covered with snow.
I can't see the further off mountains because the cloud cover is very dense. A few flurries came down around the house but it hasn't really snowed here yet.
The dog and I went for a walk this morning down the road. I wore a jacket for the first time and even had to zip it up. My body was warm but the wind was fierce and by the time I got back my ears were burning. Very, very grey and heavily clouded skies. I'm excited to be seeing the desert as the seasons turn toward winter.
I came in and warmed up some by the fire. I read some more and then made some hummus. I haven't made it in a long, long time and I way overdid it on the garlic. "Too much garlic? Is that even possible," you might be thinking to yourself. Yes, I didn't believe it either but it seems that it is. At least when you're eating it raw with other ingredients. The bitterness can overwhelm the other flavors. I also made some bread dough and I'm waiting for it to finish rising while I type this.
Just a little while ago, the dog and I went out for another walk. I wish he could read--he gets restless in the house after a couple of hours (I can' blame him; I do too, and need to take a break from whatever I'm doing to go wander around outside). When I was little and inside for what my mom thought was too long, she'd kick me outside and say, "Get out and get the stink off of you." I must have been underfoot in the same way that the dog gets under my feet when he's restless. I wonder where my mom picked up that phrase. I do remember my dad saying that when he was a kid in South Boston, his mom would kick him out of the house right after breakfast and not expect him back until dinner time.
Back to my walk: this time we were more adventurous and went wandering off into sagebrush off the back of the paddock. S. is blind, so I avoid off-road walks unless he has a leash on and I can steer him away from the cactuses. But the area we went walking into had surprisingly few of them and he navigated pretty well, though I did have to stop him a few times to remove spines. I'm wondering if he can smell some of the cactuses. He seems to do better than the odds would predict when walking in a cactus-strewn area. I know that he can smell the Junipers. When we would go for walks in the summer he would occasionally walk off by himself, directly to a Juniper, and lie in the shade. He could not only smell them, he also associated them with coolness.
After we'd been out walking for a bit, I came across some tracks that were very fresh (it rained last night and wiped out all the old tracks). Round toes, no claw marks, even though the tracks were located on an incline, in a dry stream bed. Mountain lion, I think.
I also saw a lot of old tracks that were large and looked like they could have been from some kind of large deer or elk. I think I stumbled across a game path, and the lion was following the path looking for food. I wanted to keep walking but felt a little creeped out and decided to head back. I think I'll get a knife to take with me on walks. I haven't wanted to bring one so far because I was worried it would give me a sense of false self-confidence. In the case that a mountain does attack me or the dog, it seems incredibly unlikely that I'd be able to get it out and do anything effective with it in time for it to be of much use. I imagine it would be good to have a knife with me regardless, in case I do something like twist my ankle and need to make a splint, or get lost and need to forage for food.
From what I've read about mountain lion attacks, they generally go after children, livestock, or women who are running or jogging. I don't want to be needlessly fearful and have it prevent me from enjoying walks with my dog, but I also do want to be cautious and aware of the potential dangers. Maybe I'll start carrying my hiking stick--it has a pointy end that would be good for jabbing, if necessary.
While I was out, I came across some rocks covered with beautiful lichen:
Off to finish making my Oatmeal bread and put another log in the wood stove.
This morning I read (I'll share about the book later) and sat by the fire. Today is the first day we've had to keep the fire burning. The temperature dropped significantly yesterday as a new cold front blew in. I need to get a thermometer next time I'm in town close to a hardware store. Off in the near distance, I can see that the ridges are covered with snow.
I can't see the further off mountains because the cloud cover is very dense. A few flurries came down around the house but it hasn't really snowed here yet.
The dog and I went for a walk this morning down the road. I wore a jacket for the first time and even had to zip it up. My body was warm but the wind was fierce and by the time I got back my ears were burning. Very, very grey and heavily clouded skies. I'm excited to be seeing the desert as the seasons turn toward winter.
I came in and warmed up some by the fire. I read some more and then made some hummus. I haven't made it in a long, long time and I way overdid it on the garlic. "Too much garlic? Is that even possible," you might be thinking to yourself. Yes, I didn't believe it either but it seems that it is. At least when you're eating it raw with other ingredients. The bitterness can overwhelm the other flavors. I also made some bread dough and I'm waiting for it to finish rising while I type this.
Just a little while ago, the dog and I went out for another walk. I wish he could read--he gets restless in the house after a couple of hours (I can' blame him; I do too, and need to take a break from whatever I'm doing to go wander around outside). When I was little and inside for what my mom thought was too long, she'd kick me outside and say, "Get out and get the stink off of you." I must have been underfoot in the same way that the dog gets under my feet when he's restless. I wonder where my mom picked up that phrase. I do remember my dad saying that when he was a kid in South Boston, his mom would kick him out of the house right after breakfast and not expect him back until dinner time.
Back to my walk: this time we were more adventurous and went wandering off into sagebrush off the back of the paddock. S. is blind, so I avoid off-road walks unless he has a leash on and I can steer him away from the cactuses. But the area we went walking into had surprisingly few of them and he navigated pretty well, though I did have to stop him a few times to remove spines. I'm wondering if he can smell some of the cactuses. He seems to do better than the odds would predict when walking in a cactus-strewn area. I know that he can smell the Junipers. When we would go for walks in the summer he would occasionally walk off by himself, directly to a Juniper, and lie in the shade. He could not only smell them, he also associated them with coolness.
After we'd been out walking for a bit, I came across some tracks that were very fresh (it rained last night and wiped out all the old tracks). Round toes, no claw marks, even though the tracks were located on an incline, in a dry stream bed. Mountain lion, I think.I also saw a lot of old tracks that were large and looked like they could have been from some kind of large deer or elk. I think I stumbled across a game path, and the lion was following the path looking for food. I wanted to keep walking but felt a little creeped out and decided to head back. I think I'll get a knife to take with me on walks. I haven't wanted to bring one so far because I was worried it would give me a sense of false self-confidence. In the case that a mountain does attack me or the dog, it seems incredibly unlikely that I'd be able to get it out and do anything effective with it in time for it to be of much use. I imagine it would be good to have a knife with me regardless, in case I do something like twist my ankle and need to make a splint, or get lost and need to forage for food.
From what I've read about mountain lion attacks, they generally go after children, livestock, or women who are running or jogging. I don't want to be needlessly fearful and have it prevent me from enjoying walks with my dog, but I also do want to be cautious and aware of the potential dangers. Maybe I'll start carrying my hiking stick--it has a pointy end that would be good for jabbing, if necessary.
While I was out, I came across some rocks covered with beautiful lichen:
Off to finish making my Oatmeal bread and put another log in the wood stove.
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